Brother Daniel Virgil McMahon
Brother Daniel Virgil McMahon was a former member of the Christian Brothers who served/taught in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. Online records show that Brother McMahon originally came from Ulverstone, Tasmania and that he entered the Christian Brothers in 1956. After completing his final profession/vows in Tasmania in 1963, Brother McMahon moved to Western Australia were he served/taught at the following schools:
Aquinas College - Salter Point, WA (1965 to 1966 and 1978 to 1983);
CBHS Highgate - Highgate, WA (1967 to 1968);
Trinity College - East Perth, WA (1975 to 1977 and 1986); and
Christian Brothers College - Fremantle, WA (1971 to 1972);
St Patrick’s College (now part of Nagle Catholic College) - Geraldton, WA (1973 to 1974).
It is also reported that Brother McMahon taught/served at the following school in South Australia:
Rostrevor College - Woodforde, SA (1968 to 1970).
In short, Brother McMahon served in the "Holy Spirit" province which covered both Western Australia and South Australia between the early 1960s to the 1980s. Throughout his time in Western Australia, Brother McMahon was also involved in counselling/recruiting individuals into the priesthood/clergy.
In the early 1990s, Brother McMahon was accepted into the priesthood in Tasmania where he served within the Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart. He became ordained in 1994. Subsequently, he changed his name to become Father Daniel John McMahon and went on to served in the following parishes during his time with the Archdiocese:
Mersey- Leven Parish - Devonport, Tas;
Bridgewater-Brighton Parish - Hobart, Tas; and
West Coast Parish - Queenstown, Tas.
It is reported that in 2004 a former victim of Brother McMahon had made a complaint to the Archbishop of Perth that he had been sexually abused by Brother McMahon at his family home in Leederville, Perth. The victim’s allegations were not contested by the Christian Brothers as their Professional Standards Office went on to conform that they had received other allegations against Brother McMahon. Correspondence viewed by the ABC reports also that while the Christian Brothers had known of Brother McMahon’s brutality when it came to punishment during his time as an Assistant Principal/Principal at the schools he taught at, they were not aware, however, of his sexual abuse till around 1997/1998.
Brother McMahon was apparently being investigated by Western Australian and South Australian Police were charges were laid in both states. However, in 2012, Brother McMahon passed away before the matter could proceed to the courts.
Moody Law has in the past and is still representing clients who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against members of the Christian Brothers at various schools and institutions around Australia.
We invite former victims to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.
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